Bonnell was a star athlete at Milford High School near Cincinnati, Ohio, where he played both varsity baseball and basketball on championship teams. Following high school graduation in 1971, he attended the Ohio State University on a full athletic scholarship where he played both baseball and basketball. He left college during his senior year to play Major League Baseball. He was the first pick in the 1975 MLB January Draft – Secondary Phase by the Philadelphia Phillies.
MLB career
During his 10-year major league career, Bonnell played for the Atlanta Braves of the National League, and for the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners of the American League. His major league debut with the Braves was in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 4,. His best year was, when he hit.318 for the Blue Jays. Known by his peers as a "money hitter", Bonnell hit four grand slams during his career and led his teams in game-winning hits nearly every year he played. Bonnell was known for his strong and accurate throwing arm. Traded to the Seattle Mariners in, he contracted Valley fever during spring training, and developed pneumonia. Bonnell struggled to play with the affliction. It took a year to recover and he served his remaining two years as a bit player.
Personal life
Bonnell married his high school sweetheart, Stefnie Stapp. Bonnell is a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he introduced Braves teammate Dale Murphy to the faith. Bonnell pursued a career in aviation after exiting MLB during the All-Star Break in 1986. He attended Flight Safety International's Airline Transition Program and was hired as a first officer by Northwest Airlink's Express Air One. Bonnell flew the twin engine turboprop SAAB 340-B for a year but decided that with the events of the day, notably, the failure of Eastern Airlines and, for the second time, the failure of Braniff Airlines, that there were too many high time furloughed pilots flooding the system for him to have a reasonable opportunity to advance to a job flying jets for a major airline. Bonnell left flying to enter the business world, where he worked in the home medical equipment field for ten years. After that he became an importer, supplying a variety of items to large brick and mortarretail chains. Bonnell then became a writer. He has completed work on his personal memoirs and has published the first book in a series planned for at least three works. Bonnell's first book, "Enchanted Notions", is an urban fantasy, published in November 2015.
